"Haaa… haa…."

While my body was initially invigorated after I confirmed the defeat of the Crimson Direwolf Emperor, all the exhaustion and pain that had piled up thus far attack me at once.

I quickly deactivate Frontflow and collapse to my knees, feeling a great deal of discomfort squirm within my body. Blood pours out of my lips, and I shiver while barely supporting myself with a far duller version of Golden Dawn.

This Armament is severely damaged already.

Just using Aego Sight tells me that its existence is nowhere near what it used to be.

Calling it an S Grade Armament would be a compliment.

It's much closer to a High-Level A Grade one.

No, a step higher.

'I used up too much of its innate properties. If I'm lucky and I find a skilled Fabricant, I can probably restore some of its previous quality, but it will likely never exceed S Grade in quality, even with repairs.' A sigh leaves my quivering lips as I struggle to breathe.

Although I'd like nothing more than to lie down and contemplate many things, I recognize that the battle is not yet over.

There is still one more loose end I have yet to address.

—Ciel!

"Where are you, Ciel?" I mutter, my only open eye flickering with deep emotions.

The rage in my tone has receded.

A sharp sting echoes in my heart, creating a biting sensation that constantly courses through my aching chest. I cast my gaze on the Crimson Direwolf Emperor's corpse, a mix of emotions forming in my chest as I do so.

"Come out now, Ciel! Or I'll butcher this beast and take away its Core Organs!" I raise my voice, slowly rising to my feet.

Silence.

"You really don't care if I desecrate your bonded Magivore?" Staggering slightly, I increase my pitch and point my blade at the deceased colossus.

I know all about the Vey'lithar tradition, especially how much they value their bonded Magivores.

Ciel could be different, since she is a Leviathan.

But I still have to try.

"You must think I am bluffing! Perhaps a demonstration will suffice." I brandish my blade, prepared to start hacking at the beast.

Then—

SWOOOSH!

An arrow made up of pure energy suddenly charges towards my blade, stopping its descent.

At the same time, a few more projectiles charge in my direction.

I quickly recover from the initial strike, and after twisting my body and going low, I avoid the flurry of attacks. However, several shards of rubble suddenly appear beneath me, forcing me to leap away from the Magivore.

Within moments, I am separated from the Cadre 6 corpse.

Only then does Ciel appear.

Brilliant pink sparkles dance all around her as her bright pink hair dances with the wind, and her purple eyes slowly flutter open.

Her tall, slender body is in a completely different garb compared to earlier.

She dons a slightly bulky armor, with gloves and boots made of metal. In her hand is a silver blade, and she wears all manner of foreign metallic jewelries that completely stain the purity of her former image.

Her eyes are cold, yet I sense a deep fierceness in them.

So this is Ciel.

She has finally appeared!

"That armor… that weapon… they were plundered from the deceased Royal Knights, were they not?" I ask with a wry smile. "I was wondering where their Armaments went."

"…."

"I thought Vey'lithars frowned on metal jewelry and weapons. To think you would break such a long-standing tradition. You really want to kill me, huh?"

"Yes." She finally speaks, letting out a light smile. "Will you let me kill you?"

I raise my brows, nearly scoffing at her ridiculous words.

"Now, why would I do that?"

I came here to kill Ciel, something she must be fully aware of. Does she really think I would not only spare her but even offer my life to her? But I know this woman isn't so deluded. She must have made that statement as a cruel joke… or as an intelligent offer.

"My intention was to kill every single Nowe'arn on this mountain, but things have gone off the rails. Since both sides have suffered heavily from this, I believe we can reach a compromise. Your life… for the lives of the others you saved." She speaks with such calmness, bargaining with lives as though they are mere commodities.

"You don't even feel an ounce of guilt for killing so many people, do you?"

"Such discussions are meaningless…" She shakes her head and stares coldly at me. "So decide already. Will you sacrifice your life for theirs?"

My answer should already be evident.

"Of course not."

"Is it because you don't trust that I'll keep my end of the deal?" She asks calmly. "We can make an oath, and I will personally ensure that—"

"No. It's not that."

Someone like Ciel will likely never understand me, and it's probably the same vice versa.

At my core… I am a selfish person.

Although I wish to save as many lives as I can, I will not intentionally give my life up for others.

Besides, what will happen to all these fierce emotions in me after I die?

Even if Ciel keeps her end of the deal, what about all of those people who already perished? Who would avenge them? Should they simply be forgotten? Should the perpetrator of their demise just get away with it—just like that?

No!

I refuse to accept that!

'Ciel should still have two Cadre 5 Magivores at her disposal. One is injured, but even with the fully healthy one, she should be able to wipe out the people I saved. It's unfortunate, but… There really is nothing I can do at the moment.'

Frontflow is under heavy cooldown, and I likely won't be able to use it for twenty minutes.

That's if I even last that long.

The poison has spread very deep into my body, and I can feel my life slipping away.

Ciel likely realizes that.

Is that why she's trying to bargain, to prevent any other bloodshed? Does she believe that I'll give in simply because I'm about to die anyway?

No… I'm not that type of person.

'I'd rather kill you and plunder this place for an antidote, or at least a Potion that will relieve my situation. Once an hour passes, I'll use Tracing to return to Lumian Town to get the rest of the supplies I left there. After I patch myself up, I'll secure the safety of everyone…'

Of course, all of these things are very hard to achieve, especially given my situation.

In fact, they all hinge on my ability to defeat Ciel.

That's something I'm not confident in.

Unlike me, she isn't injured in the slightest. She isn't showing any sign of exhaustion, and she also hasn't been poisoned like me.

Most noticeably, she has at least five Armaments that are B Grade: the armor, the sword, the necklace, the gloves, and the boots.

All of them are B Grade Armaments, and they will be incredibly threatening to me.

Compared to her, I only have one Quasi S Grade Armament, and the quality will only continue to drop the more I use it. The Armament is useful for both offense and defense, but with the leftover energy within it, I can only cover my vital organs.

This is a predicament.

Ciel has too many advantages, and it is frightening to even consider how I can hold on.

'Without the burden of the Cadre 6 Magivore, she can also use her Conceptions. Even if she hasn't fully recovered, the mere ability to see the future will certainly be tricky.'

How can I win?

At this moment, I have no idea.

But… I have to try!

"It feels a little uncomfortable… having you stare at my naked body like that."

I chuckle softly.

Ciel doesn't appear amused in the slightest.

She simply shrugs.

"Not like I haven't seen it before."

"Yeah, but you had a little more excitement on your face back then. Don't tell me you were faking that, too."

"Isn't it obvious at this point?" She sighs, pointing her silver blade at me. "Since you've made up your mind, raise your sword and struggle until you die."

'Tch… She noticed so quickly.'

I can't help but sigh with powerlessness.

Although I wish to preserve a little more time for myself so I can recover, I likely won't be able to get any further with Ciel. The woman I'm dealing with is a Seeker, so little schemes like this are rather pointless.

I can only give it my best—fight, with every intention to win!

Casually swinging my blade to the side while steadying my breath, I concentrate my gaze on her while preparing to attack.

Then, without any warning, I charge forward.

WHOOSH!

The world around me blurs, but I watch her make an upright stance, her hand shifting back while she tilts her silver blade in my direction.

"Haaa!"

I shout, swinging my blade down with all of my strength.

However, she gracefully steps to the side before parrying my blade to the side and then landing a kick on my stomach, so I am sent flying back. Using the impact of her strike, she easily flips in the air, kicking the ground to charge at me again. I quickly stop my sliding motion to the back, and I only barely recover from her previous blow when I am faced with a silver blade directly aimed at my face.

I hurriedly avoid the strike by dodging to the side, and then sending my blade towards her chest, but she brings the sword down and blocks the attack yet again.

Sparks dance in the air, and the mounting pressure on my limbs causes me to wince in pain.

Ciel must have taken some Potions to increase her strength, further improving the effects of these Armaments that reinforce her attacks.

Compared to her, I am at my wits' end, with every blow pushing me back.

But I persevere.

Her parry sends my blade flying, but I quickly recover, twisting my body to render a powerful horizontal slash. But she leaps into the air and dodges the attack before descending with a slash of her own, which I barely block.

I wince once again, but refuse to back down.

Her descent is the perfect window to strike, so I hurriedly slash, but she lowers her head in her quick descent, preventing me from even harming a single strand of her hair.

Then, in a flexible twist, she sends her body twirling and lands a powerful kick on my face.

"Guh!" My head turns to the side.

Before I turn back at her, she sends her blade charging, but I quickly block.

However, the impact causes my hand to be pushed back, leaving me defenseless and open to her attack. Ciel's wide-open eyes flash as she takes the window, thrusting her blade with precise energy.

Unable to resist, I quickly activate some of my golden energy to deflect her attack slightly to the side. This causes the silver flash to slice through my cheeks, causing blood to splatter out. I try to bring my hand down in a hurry, but she uses the blunt edge of her blade to hit my face, causing me to stagger to the side.

As I grow disoriented by the quick blows, my blurry catches her smiling as streaks of light—arrows—charge at me at once and pierce multiple parts of my body.

Then, the silver blade is thrust at my chest once more.

This time… I don't fight it.

I let her sword pierce me, gasping through the pain as I push my body towards her and send my hand crashing down.

She tries to pull out her blade, but I tightly grip her hand.

As my arm descends, she hurriedly raises her unoccupied hand and grabs it. With both of our limbs occupied, I push myself towards her even more.

And then—

'Now, Ciel…'

—I plant my lips on hers, giving her a fierce, desperate kiss.

'… What will you do?'

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